Radak:I love a good dog, but really, it's sadder to send off a dog than a human?

Yes. I have no emotional connection to police officers. Perhaps to State Troopers as my godfather is a retired state trooper and his son was an MP. But ever since I can remember, my family has had dogs. And the first dog I remember was a German Shepherd, and those types of dogs are typically police dogs. And the last dogs to die in my family had cancers and diseases.

Radak:I love a good dog, but really, it's sadder to send off a dog than a human?

Dogs are honest. They may piss on your leg, but they won't try to hide it. They may want to fark you up, but they will come out and bite you instead of pretending to be your friend.

Humans are evil. Man or female, they will lead you on for years if it suits their purpose, they will befriend you and then crush your soul on a whim or for a buck. Humans do... not... give... a... shiat... about you.

GrogSmash:I see a lot of people here have never had to put a companion down.

Until you do... Shut it...

And then once you do, it's the first thought in your head when you get a new dog. But, like life and most everything in it, it's still worth it in the end.

I love dogs, as much or possibly more than people. They are the perfect companion, they reflect their owners and by doing so can teach us a lot about ourselves. They care about us unconditionally, even if we aren't deserving of it. They can test us in ways nature usually saves for when we have kids.

Having them is a way to learn a lot of life's big lessons, and just by being around they can ease the sting of a lot of the harder ones. . no wonder it hurts so much to say goodbye.

Neither deaths are sad. There is nothing sad about dead. A human is just a human and a dog is just a dog. Humans pollute the planet and dogs shiat everywhere. There are billions of them and they can all be replaced. Life is meaningless, and so therefore is loss of life.

MurphyMurphy:GrogSmash: I see a lot of people here have never had to put a companion down.

Until you do... Shut it...

And then once you do, it's the first thought in your head when you get a new dog. But, like life and most everything in it, it's still worth it in the end.

I love dogs, as much or possibly more than people. They are the perfect companion, they reflect their owners and by doing so can teach us a lot about ourselves. They care about us unconditionally, even if we aren't deserving of it. They can test us in ways nature usually saves for when we have kids.

Having them is a way to learn a lot of life's big lessons, and just by being around they can ease the sting of a lot of the harder ones. . no wonder it hurts so much to say goodbye.

Well, the friends I've had to put down were cats, but the same applies.

Radak:I love a good dog, but really, it's sadder to send off a dog than a human?

Let's not confuse our poor, sociopathic subby by trying to explain that those bipedal meat sacks he often encounters are humans and their lives are as (or more) complicated than subby's and their deaths will always matter more than a dog's death.

CowardlyLion:Radak: I love a good dog, but really, it's sadder to send off a dog than a human?

Let's not confuse our poor, sociopathic subby by trying to explain that those bipedal meat sacks he often encounters are humans and their lives are as (or more) complicated than subby's and their deaths will always matter more than a dog's death.

Popcorn Johnny:I'm curious Farkers. If you could save a newborn baby or every dog on the planet, which would you chose?

If that is the only choice, I would snuff out that newborn and save Every dog. It would be like a really late term abortion and it wouldn't take me that long to make that choice. Maybe the baby would have been the next Eistein, maybe it would have been a serial killer. We won't know and won't care much like the thousands of pieces of tissue that never reach potential.

However many dogs are useful and save lives from bomb sniffing dogs, sniffing cancer, to search and rescue animals. One definite life plus many potential lives killed by dogs vs hundreds or thousands of others potentially saved by dogs. It is really no contest when you think about it.

I know the headline was probably a bit of tongue-in-cheek for an admittedly sad situation, and I've been involved in several fundraiser a for bullet proof vests for police dogs so I totally sympathize with how sad it is for one to go, but I'm going to be a Debbie-Downer and agree that it is much sadder when one of the human police officers dies. Having had friends on the force that have met that end, I'd trade a dog any day. (Not gladly, but you know what I mean)